Standing on the walls of the ancient city of Chester, Charles saw his
last army utterly routed (1645). Shortly afterwards he fled to the
Scots. Oxford, the King's chief city in the Midlands, surrendered to
Fairfax (1646). The first civil war was now practically over. The
Scots gave up the King (1647) to the parliamentary commissioners, and
he was taken to Holmby House, Northamptonshire. There Cromwell and
the army made overtures to him, but without effect. He was then
brought by the Parliamentary or People's army to Hampton Court, near
London.
Here, and elsewhere, the army again attempted to come to some definite
understanding with the King, but all to no purpose. Politically
speaking, Charles was his own worst enemy. He was false to the core,
and, as Carlyle has said: "A man whose word will not inform you at all
what he means, or will do, is not a man you can bargain with. You
must get out of that man's way, or put him out of yours."
447. The Second Civil War (1648); Pride's Purge (1648); the "Rump
Parliament."
After two years spent in fruitless negotiations, Charles, who had fled
to Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight, made a secret treaty with
the Scots (1648), promising to sanction the establishment of the
Scotch Presbyterian Church in England (S444), if they would send an
army into the country to restore him to the throne.[1]
[1] When Cromwell found out that Charles had resolved to destroy him
and the Independent army, he apparently made up his mind to put the
King to death. See Lord Broghill's story in S. R. Gardiner's
"History of the Great Civil War," III, 259.
The Scots marched into England, the Royalists rose to aid them, and
the second civil war began. It speedily ended in the utter defeat of
the King's forces. The People's army now vowed that they would bring
the King to justice. To this neither the Presbyterians in the House
of Commons nor the members of the House of Lords would agree.
Colonel Pride then proceeded (1648), as he said, to purge the "Long
Parliament" (S439) by driving out all who were opposed to this
measure. Cromwell had no part in Pride's expulsion of members, though
he afterwards expressed his approval of it. Those who remained were a
small body of Independents only (SS422, 439). They did not number
sixty; they became the mere tool of the Parliamentary or People's army
and were called in derision the "Rump Parliament."